Search Engine Optimization: Getting Started

Before I begin diving into keywords, meta-tags, website content, rankings, and the more technical stuff I'd like to start at the very beginning.

Note: Whether you are a SEO guru or a novice, it never hurts to focus on the basics of what makes for a good website. Once we can come to terms on what research supports is a good website, we can then move on to getting it recognized.

Point 1. Keep it simple and avoid the "cool" hype. Just look at google or craigslist and you can see simplicity at its best. The internet is a fast moving interactive medium and its users are quite impatient. Users want to easily access the information they are searching for and it should be your primary focus to give em what they want.

The cool flash may look great for you but your visitors aren't concerned about that as much as they are concerned about finding what they want. Flash and javascript kill speed and the search engines choke on these features. The only people who benefit are your flash developers and maybe your preception of your image. Ultimatley there are no benefits at all using flash introductions that take 10 seconds to load.

Note: Flash can be used within the properly structured website if image is key for you but don't forget that Search Engines love content more than anything.

Benjamin Kerpe